AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Japan tops Group C after a draw with the Republic of Korea

The two-time champions of Japan won first place in Group C of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Thursday after a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Korea at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Center in Pune.

Seo Ji-yeon’s equalizer came five minutes after a goalless draw, with Colin Bell’s side gaining a point in a Japanese-dominated match after Riko Ueki’s first-minute opener put the champions ahead.

Futoshi Ikeda’s team couldn’t have asked for a better start as Ueki’s speed of thought and movement unlocked the Korean defense with just a few seconds on the clock. The striker overtook his scorer after picking up the ball from Shiori Miyake and suddenly found himself with goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi, who offered little resistance when Ueki stroked the ball home.

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It was a great start for the champion, who needed to expand his leadership. Yui Hasegawa’s speed was almost enough to give Kim Jung-mi a goal after 14 minutes, but his nice pass to was not taken care of properly. The home keeper was stunned 27 minutes into the match when he misjudged the free kick by fc.

Hasegawa caused more trouble for the Korean defender half an hour later when Kim Jung-mi threw his ball to the right at Ueki’s feet. However, instead of doubling his side, the Tokyo Very Beauty striker saw his effort back from a defender.

Korea barely had a chance to dominate in the first half. Choo Hyo-jook saw the goal from a distance in the fifth minute, but he had little to do with Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita and Cho So-hyun sent a header of time injured over the crossbar.

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Moeka Minami came close to adding a second to the Japanese when he fired over the crossbar after the Korean defender missed a corner, and eventually Ikeda’s team regretted not adding to his measurement.

With five minutes to go, the Seo substitute scored the final touch – and his first international goal – after the Japanese defender took a corner from Ji So-yun and a header on the line due to a foul on Japan to ensure a nervous end to the match. .